The dangerous truth
by BeforeItAllEnds
Summary: Countless missions, training sessions and stacks of paperwork were the hardships of being a hunter apprentice. The hunter Association was trying to work Zero to the bone, he was sure of it. It all would be over soon, but the final mission that would mark the end of his apprentice days took a turn he wasn't prepared for. KxZ
1. Chapter 1

**~ Chapter 1 ~**

Zero sat by his desk at the Hunter's Association. He had a stack of papers that needed to be sorted and signed. He hated paperwork with a passion and it was the only thing he and his fellow hunter in training, Kaito Takamiya, could agree on. It had been long nights the last couple of weeks with missions almost every night. He felt exhausted and on top of it all, his thirst gnawed at him. This only happened on rare occasions or when he'd over worked himself. Zero believed that it was the Association's cruel way of trying to force him to cave in to the thirst. Get missions complete and rid a torn in their side. They wanted him to fail so that they would have a reason to kick him out of the hunter clan. Too bad for them that Zero had yet to fail or fall to level E.

Something that was in Zero's favor was that his shishou, Toga Yagari, had great influence since he was on of the top hunters. He was ruthless in his training of aspiring hunters, but he always believed in Zero. Without Yagari he wouldn't be sitting here in his office as an almost graduated hunter. He was currently the best apprentice and was predicted to follow his shishou's footsteps. Kaito wasn't far behind, though his temper and too rapid decisions was something that he had to work on before succeeding Zero. It irritated Kaito to no end that a hunter that also was a vampire, was better than him in slaying 'bloodsuckers' as he so mildly expressed it.

Zero had been turned on a dark night when his whole family had been slaughtered by a pureblood in an act of revenge for her hunted down mate. Ichiru, his beloved twin, had been weak since birth and died instantly. Their parents fought bravely against the pureblood, but met the same fate as his brother. The pureblood had been fatally injured and left Zero behind with a bite mark on his neck. The attack hadn't got unnoticed and soon Zero was found by Yagari and his hunter partner Kaien Cross. Everyone knew what had happened and had looked at Zero with sad eyes whenever he came into a room. They pitied him. The pity had driven Zero to work hard to become accepted by the hunter clan. Despite his hard work trough out the years there still were many people who didn't approve of him being a hunter. It was a struggle, but a struggle he was used to. Zero traced the tattoo on his neck that sealed the bite and decided to take a few artificial blood pills. They tasted like crap and sometimes he couldn't keep them down. He needed rest and he would get better, not that the Association would give him that. A presence outside his door drew his attention from his paper work and he looked up just as his door swung open. The small dagger thrown his way was caught easily and thrown back to embed into the wood beside his visitors head.

"Nice try, shishou." Zero said while surveying Yagari.

"I expect nothing less of you." The man said coolly and then closed the door. He pulled out the knife from the wall and replaced it in his heavy coat.

"New orders?" Zero wondered. Yagari never visited without a purpose.

"A meeting actually."

"About?"

"They didn't say, classified information."

"Something big then." Zero sighed.

"Yeah, it's tomorrow morning so I suggest you rest before that. Your bloodlust is overwhelming."

Zero looked away, embarrassed that his shishou had managed to find out so easily even though he tried to suppress it. "I know." He said.

"You have it in check, right?"

"Yes." Zero held up his case of blood tablets and Toga nodded.

"I have to go. Don't be late tomorrow."

The young hunter wasn't done with the reports until late evening and his coffee had been finished several reports ago. He had a hard time to keep his eyes open and still had the travel home before he could get his well deserved rest. You could have a sleeping quarter at the Association, but it wasn't optional for Zero since he was a vampire. He wouldn't get any rest and his fellow hunters wouldn't either when they could sense a vampire within. Putting up charms everywhere is such a hassle too. His Spartan apartment on the third floor did have a spell cast over it though to help with suppressing his hunter aura so that other vampires wouldn't pay him a visit while sleeping. That was easier than doing the opposite.

The Association was stationed in the outskirts, mostly to not drag too much attention from humans and Zero didn't have a car at the moment. His low apprentice pay could only afford necessities. He usually ran on his way to the Association and sometimes on the way home depending on the hour and how exhausted he was. This night he couldn't muster that energy, Zero walked briskly down the road towards the small town he lived in.

When he got home he toed of his hunter boots and hung his coat on the single pegged rack. Zero found some scraps in his fridge that he wolfed down before he walked in to the bathroom to take a shower. He almost squeaked when the frigid water hit his back, the old pipes always took forever to bring the hot water up to his apartment. When the warm water did pour out from the shower head, he sighed in bliss. Zero washed his hair and then his body, he was tempted to just stand and soak in the warm spray but he knew his neighbor already hated him for showering this late. His towel was snatched quickly to not lose any of that precious heat. Fed and washed, Zero fell in bed and fell asleep the moment his head touched his lumpy pillow.

Apparently he had been more exhausted than he had thought. He woke with a startle as the sun abused his sleeping face. The blinds had been forgotten in his haste yesterday, this was the reason that they always where down. Wait… _sun_? Zero sat up in his bed in alarm. He'd over slept. On a day he really can't oversleep on. Shishou is going to kill me, he thought. If the president don't get to it first. He sprung out of bed and threw on his clothes and hopped that he took a clean shirt as he had no time to check, then he remembered that he hadn't done any laundry in a while. Damn it.

Zero ran on the familiar road while he cursed over the distance he had between his home and the Association. This wasn't the first time he found himself rushing. It wouldn't be the last either for sure. Fortunately his excellent stamina and cardio brought him to the Association as quick as possible. When he stopped by the big wooden gate doors, his chest was heaving for air and sweat trickled down his brow. He swept it away with his forearm and walked inside.

Begging his heart to calm from the run, Zero walked up the stairs to find the conference room that they would be in. He had to walk calmly to not drag any attention from other hunters that he was late. His pride wouldn't take it. While roaming around in the halls, he realized that his shishou never told him what room they were supposed to meet in. He had to walk back to the big bulletin board in the entrance to see if they had announced it there. Why he hadn't looked there from the beginning made him want to bang his head against a wall. His eyes searched for the paper with the room bookings and found it. A finger searched for something to indicate that it would be the room he was supposed to be in. _28-B, booked by Touga Yagari._ YES. Zero hurriedly made his way towards the room and paused outside the door. He knocked on the closed door and took a deep breath before he walked inside…only to be met with an empty room. Were the hell where they?

"Oh Kiryuu, what are you doing here?" A fellow hunter said behind him.

"I was supposed to attend a meeting here. Shishou booked it."

"Uhm, I saw master Yagari walk in 32-C recently."

"My mistake." Zero said and threw himself out.

He repeated the procedure and walked inside at the president's confirmation to do so. The calm conversation held by the patrons sitting by the long table in the room died down and he got a hard stare from the president. The others weren't any worse and did the same.

"Sorry for my lateness." Zero said disgustingly polite, not that it mattered, but for manners sake.

There was one empty seat left beside his shishou which he took. Yagari didn't say anything, but Zero could tell that he wasn't happy. The meeting continued as if nothing had happened and left Zero to pick up the bits and pieces and tie them together. They hadn't gotten far from what he understood.

"…and to the main reason for this meeting. The Association has gotten the _privilege_ to act as security surveillance for the vampire prince." The president said seriously and the room got very quiet. "This is only temporary until after the coronation of the prince." Zero gritted his teeth; there was no way that he would partake in this ridiculousness. They, guarding the prince? He could use his own bloody guards and not use their resources; the Association was busy as it was already. He folded his arms across his chest in protest.

"Yagari, you will organize the operation together with hunters of your choice. All of you in this meeting will be at the site. No exceptions." Zero found himself being stared at by the president and he glared back with all his might, but got met with a smug smirk. "This mission is ordered by the prince and we will be compensated for it. Immensely. Our future reputation depends on the outcome of this mission. I know many of you couldn't care less if the future king where to perish _but_ it would cause too much ripples in the world right now. We aren't prepared for such."

"Mr. President with all due respect, won't our other missions be disturbed by this? If all the good hunters are concentrating on the prince alone, wouldn't our defenses get weakened?" A hunter across the table said. He had a good point, Zero agreed in his head. A few in the room made supportive sounds.

"The prince will only require escort outside the castle walls and on the coronation day itself. His own men will deal with safety indoors. You will be able to continue with your regular missions when our attention isn't needed. If there are no further questions, this will end our meeting. Yagari, you will get all the information at a later hour."

The older hunter nodded and rose with the rest of the participants. Zero rose too but was quickly stopped. "Kiryuu, I want a word with you before you go." The president said icily. The room emptied quickly and when the door closed, the president turned his attention towards Zero who had sat down. "You were late… _again_ and you look like something the cat dragged in. Where's your pride as a hunter? Has it totally been eradicated by that filthy vampire inside of you?"

"No, Mr. President." Zero answered with clenched teeth. He did everything he was asked to without any loud complaints. Hell, he even did more work and missions than most hunters at the Association, but apparently that wasn't enough. It would never be enough.

"You're lucky that you are a Kiryuu and that Yagari speaks well of you. At the moment you are valuable, but the second you aren't I'll banish you. Do you hear me?"

"Yes, loud and clear. Are we done?"

"You're dismissed."

Zero rose and walked out from the conference room. Outside his shishou stood across the hall, leaning against a wall and waited for him. In his mouth was an unlit cigarette which he rolled between his lips.

"Shooting range training in ten minutes. Kaito is already there." Yagari said and moved away from the wall going in the direction towards the range.

Zero blinked; surprised that he hadn't gotten chewed out for being late. Being in a room by himself with the president had probably deemed to be enough by his shishou. He went to the bathroom before taking the elevator down to the basement. Because off his late departure from his apartment, he hadn't even gotten the chance to relieve himself. He had wanted to pee for a long time by now. After he washed his hands, Zero cleaned his face and tried to tame his bed hair. Since he had been sleeping with his hair wet, it was a crazy mess. His stomach screamed after breakfast so he took a few blood pills. The chalky taste almost made him gag them up, but he drank a lot of water to get them down. He usually took them with coffee in the mornings to get rid of the taste.

Straightened out, Zero went to the shooting range. The old elevator brought him deep to the building's basement. When he stepped out of it, he immediately drew his gun as he sensed someone doing the same at him.

"Kaito." Yagari said in a deep voice.

"What, I sensed a vampire." Kaito shrugged nonchalantly but didn't lower his gun.

"Cut the crap Kaito." Zero said irritably.

" _Both_ of you, shut up." Yagari growled.

The lowered their guns simultaneously, taking their sensei's words seriously. Zero really wanted to retaliate with 'Kaito started it', but decided against it. His shishou looked to be just as annoyed by the mission as he was. The president had given him all the responsibility for it and probably hadn't asked before doing it in front of everyone.

Zero walked to one of the other shooting booths and changed the antivampire bullets in his weapon to regular ones. He then pressed on the button to the automatic line that held the scoreboard paper. With a new fastened in the clip, it was moved back to the end of the range. He the noticed what Kaito had done to his while he had waited. He'd painted something resembling a vampire, fangs and all. He chose to not comment about it, it would only use as an argument starter anyway. Set up to train his aim, Zero put on the hearing protection and waited for his shishou's sign to start shooting. Though it didn't come, instead Yagari ripped the protection off and threw it away.

"What have I said about these?" He chastised.

"That we shouldn't wear them to not get surprised by the noise in field." Kaito answered, making Zero glare at him.

"My ears are sensitive! It's not you who have to spend the rest of the day wearing off a headache."

"My reason still stands. No protective gear for ears."

"No wonder half the Association is full of deaf, grumpy geezers." Zero mumbled and earned a chuckle from Kaito. It was custom to shield the ears from the noise in practice since nearly all experienced hunters in most cases experienced lost hearing after a long life in the field. Though Zero being a vampire, his ear drum would heal itself if that ever happened. No one knew what shooting could do to a vampire's hearing in the long run (he was after all the first hunter vampire) so he wasn't off the hook completely.

"Make yourself ready, thirty seconds standing and thirty lying down. Looser pays my lunch."

The bell rang and they started to shoot. Thirty seconds went by fast and quickly the hidden targets popped up close to the floor, both went down and started shooting at them. Zero exchanged his clip while changing his position. Each target that he hit fell down and another popped up on a different location to test their ability to change their attention. The ringing started again, indicating that the one minute was up. Zero leaned his forehead against the cold, dirty floor and grasped his head. Damn noise.

Yagari counted the hits and signed their points on their progression sheet. "Get up from the floor stupid apprentice." He said. Zero did as told and joined Kaito to wait for the results. "You're the lucky one this time Kaito," The young apprentice exclaimed a sound of victory. "You get to pay my lunch." The look on Kaito's face was priceless. Zero did his best to not laugh at the poor guy.

"That can't be right!" Kaito objected.

"Zero got one more hit than you, better luck next time kid."

They ended up in the cafeteria where most meals were served for those who lived at the Association. Kaito and Yagari did for simplicities sake. You never had a day off per se as a hunter; the work volume depended on the outer world and the level E's. It had been a while since Zero had had a proper meal and there was a lot to choose from on the menu board. He took a bowl of ramen, his favorite and a coffee. Kaito had to open his wallet when Yagari took one of the more expensive meals. Zero was glad that it wasn't his bad luck to treat their shishou. As usual he got a lot of stares from other hunters as he made his way through the sitting area to find an empty table. He was used to it by now and chose to ignore. They wasn't worth it.

Their meals where eaten in silence, Kaito was probably annoyed that he had spent a good amount of his money on another to bother and start a conversation. Their shishou on the other hand, ate away in an odd happy way only their grumpy sensei could express. The ramen was good actually and Zero wished he could have another bowl of it. He settled to drink his coffee instead. Since he was having coffee, he took the opportunity to take a blood pill. It was taken discreetly. Unknowledgeable hunters could mistake it for him being thirsty and dangerous. Kaito did notice and looked away when their eyes met. They never really spoke about him being a vampire besides when Kaito brought it up just to rile him. His comrade had been reluctant to be taken under Yagari's wing when he'd heard that Zero was his apprentice. Though, the thought of being taught by one of the best hunters had in the end won and Kaito somehow came to accept Zero…. he tried at least.

A sharp elbow colliding with his head brought him out of his musings. Zero turned his head to the right to see who had hit him. It was a pair of hunters that probably had done it whilst walking past him. He had two choices, either ignore it or confront them. Ignoring would mean that they seemed stronger than him and we can't have that, can we?

"The fuck do you think you're doing?" He said loudly.

"What does it look like?" One of the men answered.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Zero hissed and stood. The group came back and they stood face to face.

"That you can't dodge properly? What kind of hunter are you?" The man smirked.

Of course he didn't think of dodging when he sat as relaxed as he could get in the presence of his own kind.

"But we all know the answer to that question, don't we?" The rest of the group laughed quietly.

Zero grabbed the collar of the man's shirt and pulled him closer. Just as he was going to open his mouth, a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"He's not worth it Zero." It was his shishou that had moved to stand behind him. Then a clearing of a throat made him let go completely.

"Mr. President." Everyone said in greeting. The group bowed slightly but Yagari and Zero stood as they were.

"Problems?"

"Not anymore." Yagari reassured. "Right, boys?" The group moved away quickly to carry on with whatever they was supposed to be doing.

"We got an urgent mission for you to carry out. Here are the orders. You will move out as soon as you're ready. It needs to be finished before tomorrow morning." The president's outstretched hand held an envelope with the Association insignia.

Geared up and ready for their mission, Yagari and his apprentices headed out. They were supposed to track a group of level E's that had slaughtered a family. Rumors told that they still hid in the neighborhood and was out for more. Kaito was pumped up as usual; Zero on the other hand still had his mind on the cafeteria incident. It had been awhile since someone actually dared to confront him. They were only lucky that the president had come at the right moment. If it meant protecting his pride, to be charged of assaulting a fellow hunter would be worth it even if his apprentice period would be prolonged. He wouldn't let anyone dare say other about his loyalty as a hunter.

"Step up your game Zero. Distraction isn't what you need right now." Yagari reprimanded while they swept the streets.

They came to a stop when the streets divided into two. Protocol said that as apprentices they had to stay with their sensei during a mission, though they had in minor ones done exceptions. This mission wasn't a minor one.

"Zero, Kaito since you almost have completed your apprenticeship I trust that you will be able to work as a pair, without my help."

"Sensei, are you sure?" Kaito said. "We haven't done something this big _alone_."

"Che, if you can't do it at this stage then you two shouldn't be certified at all."

Yagari was right and they split apart hoping to find what they were hunting. They could handle themselves… or so they thought.

* * *

 **To be continued…**


	2. Chapter 2

**~ Chapter 2 ~**

They had only ventured in the dark street for a while until they had found the first splatter of blood against a wall. Zero dragged his finger against the blood and smeared it between his fingers to get an idea of how old it was. The blood wasn't fresh and he came to the conclusion that it wasn't from a vampire attack. Kaito agreed as well since he thought that the splatter wasn't that spread out as if should be from a set of claws digging into flesh.

The hunt continued and they didn't see any indications that they had chosen the right path. A static noise from Kaito's belt made them stop. It was their shishou that contacted them through the walkie talkie. The dark haired hunter took it up to confirm that the contact had come through.

-We hear you. Over.-

 _-Nothing on this side.-_

-Same goes for us.-

 _-Stay in touch. Over and out.-_

It came clear rather quickly that Zero and Kaito had hit the jackpot when they walked in further. It was the smell that hit them first. Level E's that had been loose for a while always managed to start to smell like rotten decay. Because of the smell they could be found easily but it reeked a long way making the hunters only know the general area that they were in. The younger and less smelly E's were a bigger risk to hunt since they also was more prone to attack viciously due to their new found energy. Those that had been around for a while was more slow, but don't let that fool you. Nevertheless Zero and Kaito took out their guns from their holster and walked with them in front of themselves. Things had gotten serious now.

No immediate signs were visible when they arrived to a dead end. They had gotten the perception that the streets would link together at the end, but someone hadn't changed the maps after this alteration. Simply put, a tall wall had been built without permission. This meant that Yagari would be forced to run around the building to be able to come to his apprentices.

"Kaito, message shishou that they are on our end." Zero said quietly while looking upwards.

-We have encountered the target. Over.-

 _-I'm on my way. Over and out.-_

That got both hunters to feel a little lighter. If their shishou where on his way then this would go smoothly.

"Look out!" Zero shouted and pushed Kaito to the side, who barely avoided a claw that impacted itself in the wall instead. The man staggered a bit before finding his footing again. Zero shot after the level E, but it disappeared in the dark and even with his slightly better night vision Zero couldn't see it. Kaito was breathing heavily as he pressed close to his partner.

"What the hell?" Kaito whispered. "It came from nowhere."

"I know." Zero replied, just as surprised as the other hunter. If he hadn't been a vampire, he had never been able to push Kaito away. The E' had been that silent. It was as if the aura was muted down by something. "It didn't have any aura, I think, and the whole place stinks. There's no chance for us to know where they are."

They stood silent to try and hear if it tried to come back. Nothing was heard or…smelled. Zero turned his head towards Kaito and sniffed the air again.

"Did you hurt yourself?" He asked and almost choked at the smell of blood.

"Uhm," Kaito raised his elbow to examine it. "grazed my elbow apparently."

Zero looked at the small wound and suddenly his throat felt so dry. He took up his miniature bottle of water and downed it in one go. He was good for a few seconds until his stomach brought it all back again. The lovely ramen he had eaten earlier was now spread out on the pavement.

"Did it get you?" Kaito asked alarmed.

"No, I-"

"Zero… your eyes." Kaito said seriously.

Zero brought up his weapon and caught his reflection in it, his usual amethyst eyes was a bright red. _Shit._ And if that wasn't enough loud shriek from an E' filled the quiet night. His head snapped in the direction of the sound and he saw one jumping from a roof to another.

"They're on the roof tops." He said and coughed for air. "You know the charm right?"

"For what?" Kaito looked at Zero and at his now glowing tattoo on his neck. "Yeah." He confirmed.

Zero straightened himself up, emptied the whole box of blood pills and willed away the intense blood lust he was experiencing. He and Kaito begun to climb up on the fire ladder that hopefully would lead them up as high as possible to be able to enter the roof. Zero took the lead, knowing that Kaito wouldn't want him behind in case everything took a worse turn and if he were to be attacked first upon reaching the roof it was a better option. Kaito was in a better shape after all. Their plan succeeded and they could climb up on the roof without bumping in with any of the E's. Kaito radioed Yagari their current status, but got no immediate response. Yagari let them know that he had found a few E's on his way to them and was going to be there later then first expected.

Before Zero could think that their prey had disappeared, five level E's came forward from behind a air-condition system stationed on the roof. They stopped and stared at the hunters. Their heads angled in strange positions a few times, before they screeched again. Zero mistakenly got eye contact with one of them and he couldn't take away his gaze from the E'. Zero felt how his feet started to move in their direction but made no motion to stop going. He just _couldn't._ Kaito's voice was muffled by whatever that had taken a hold of him.

' _ **Comrade.'**_

Zero flinched at thevoice in his head and he took more steps towards them. Then a searing pain in his neck stopped him completely. He fell down onto one of his knees, clutching it while his world got clearer.

"You stupid IDIOT! Get your shit together Zero!" Kaito yelled at him, weapon poised at the fallen vampires.

It was just in time before the E's moved forward. Kaito shot the two that was closest to Zero who still hadn't moved. He was a little stunned that the E's so easily had been able to take over his mind. Had he become that weakened? _No._ There was no chance that he had sunk that low. Zero dodged a clawed hand swiping at him while standing up in the process.

"I'm not a fucking comrade of yours." He hissed before ending an E with a shot between the eyes.

Kaito joined his side, effectively pressing against his back to cover any blind spots. Two E's remained and they circled around the hunters while calculating their next move.

"You take that one, and I the other." Kaito suggested.

They broke apart and pounced on their chosen Level E. They didn't go down without a fight like the others had done. These where faster than the previous three making them a little harder to aim at. Just a little. A few minutes later the night got silent again and the spread out dust piles flew away in the wind. Zero's hand holding the gun lowered and the arm hung limp by his side. Somehow they had done it, all thanks to Kaito. He felt exhausted and just wanted to sleep for a day or two. Though his thoughts of resting where interrupted when he felt the barrel of a gun press between his shoulder blades.

"Are you sane?" Came the question. Their shishou had at last found them.

Zero turned around and the barrel moved to his heart. "What does it look like?" He answered still knowing that his eyes were glowing red.

"They almost got him." Kaito said grimly.

"Is that true, Zero?" Yagari wondered sternly. The apprentice looked away from Yagari's eyes and nodded. "You two finally managed to work together like a team." Zero looked surprised at their shishou who continued. "Kaito, you saw beyond the dark side of Zero and helped him. I should scream at you for your recklessness of not waiting for me, but considering the situation you couldn't have acted in any other way."

Their shishou praised them instead of pushing them out from the roof? What did he do before coming here? Zero wondered. The famous gun didn't move away from him however.

"We need to calm you down before we can go back."

"I took the whole box, it didn't work." Zero said calmly knowing that Yagari would be forced to reinforce the mark on his neck. It would hurt like hell if the branding procedure was something to go after. "Just do it." The hand connected with his mark and he braced himself.

"Bind." Was spoken and blue lightning bolts crackled around the hand and Zero gritted his teeth. The pain was nothing he could explain as it felt to be reaching down to his soul. The red in his eyes vanished and the hand moved away. His knees gave away under him and he coughed up blood. The mark had been attacking his body too much in one day. When black crept in the corner of his vision he threw his fist into the roof causing a dent in it to make him stay conscious.

"Fuck." He panted and dried his mouth on his sleeve.

"I'll call on someone to pick us up." Kaito said while Zero tried to figure out what was up and down.

Yagari had sat down on a vent and smoked as always after a hunt.

"Will you report me?" Zero asked.

"No. I'm sure they already know." Yagari answered. Somehow the Association always found out about everything.

"Do you think I'll graduate before…I will-"

"Are you weak?"

"No."

"I didn't raise a quitter did I?"

"No."

"Then why are you asking stupid questions all of a sudden?"

Zero tried to not smile about the strange fondness his shishou manage to bring forward at rare occasions. The man had no children of his own and probably would never have. Zero and Kaito were like sons to him in a way, he protected them even though it wasn't as apparent with his training methods and other cruel things he pushed on to them. The man cared deep down and it moved Zero every time. He wanted them to succeed and make a career. If not, he would have let go of his sorry as a long time ago.

When they returned to the Association, they sat down and wrote the rapport together to be able to evaluate the mission and to somehow cover that they had gone separate ways. The president had walked by their room and looked through the glass while they were working. Zero accidentally made eye contact and got a knowing smirk. The president was strong, but could he really sense how he was faring with just a gaze? If he did it to just get Zero to know that he had his eyes on him or if he really did know something, he never would find out. It would be too easy that way. It had always been a silent game between the two of them.

~xxx~

It had taken some time for Zero to rest up after _almost_ falling to E. He didn't like to call it like that though, since he per see hadn't fallen only been drawn to them. Even if you didn't fall a group or a single Level E could easily change that with trying to draw you to them. This was fairly rare because the norm was that you would fall by yourself before that happened. Zero knew that he had been lucky. His last attack had been hard to fight and it worried him.

He hadn't time to be anxious about that, today was the day they would meet the vampire Prince. They were going to have the first meeting that would give them the info that they needed to be able to plan the missions to guard the Prince. There was a strange air surrounding the Association, it wasn't often a vampire would walk inside of its own accord and through the main gates. The hunters wasn't too keen on it, but it was a compromise that had been done after the Prince had stated that he didn't want any hunters inside his castle since he didn't know if they were to be trusted. Yagari had been writing a list that confirmed those that would be at the Prince's service. Before any of those could be stationed, it had to be approved therefore this first meeting.

Now they all sat in the finest meeting room waiting for the noble. There was a mixed response in the room beside the silence. Some sat still and a few busied themselves with something to make it less tense. Being Yagari's apprentices, Zero and Kaito sat composed as their shishou's behavior had been transferred to them. The president wouldn't be present since this had been put on Yagari's table but could monitor them through a hidden camera if he wanted. He would only accompany the Prince to uphold the courtesy as a good host.

The prince was sensed before the president had the chance to even great him at the gates. The purebloods aura would extend a long way if they wanted it to or not at all. The clear aura was probably a peace offering of a sort, to make his intentions legit. No one, besides Yagari (who had to) bothered to stand as he came in through the door with his own guards. One was a woman with a purplish bob, a man with orange hair and another with blonde. Yagari had already provided with the info that the woman, Seiren, was the prince's personal bodyguard, the orange haired man, Kain, was the chief of security and the blonde, Takuma, was his personal adviser but also a good friend. Yagari showed the empty seat with a motion of his arm and the prince sat down. The blonde stood beside him while the other two positioned themselves where they could shield him the best way.

"Welcome to our first meeting." Yagari said to everyone. "Your Highness, please tell us your needs so we can judge the situation in a proper manner."

"My intel has provided me with information that I have been made a target by a movement that wants the crown to fall. There for I have been forced to ask for your assistance. As I have told your President, I only need protection outside my castle walls as reinforcement and of course on the coronation day. I only have a small circle of trusted and they can't cover the crowds by themselves."

"Will we know when you will go out beforehand?" A hunter asked, completely dismissing the royal.

"Yes and no. When the prince will go out on social outings it will get notified beforehand, but other meetings and such wont to not spread the word." Said the man with orange hair.

"So we are supposed to bend to your whims when you tell us to?" Another hunter objected, not happy about the news.

Zero watched how the prince made a note on a paper before answering. "Your daily and nightly missions will be planed around this mission."

"It was a suggestion from my side to not get hooped with work." Yagari said. "We are going to move missions around to get the 'Special group' as free as possible."

"Considering that we are only supposed to act outside the castle walls, will we move in convoy to locations and secure surroundings where Your Highness is?" Zero asked.

"Sometimes it's enough to follow my car; the only hassle will be identification. If area surveillance is necessary you will work on your own. I trust that you can handle it, if extra measures are needed I'll speak with Yagari."

"Therefore no actual contact will be made except with your personal security?"

"Yes, that is correct." The prince answered somewhat amused and wrote something down on the paper again.

This made a few of the hunters a little more at ease. Guarding something on distance could be easier than going on an actual mission to hunt level E. Zero was sure that his shishou would give a speech about slacking. It was a question of sitting and wait for things to get hot and also not lose concentration on the task at hand.

"Then if there aren't any further questions I would want to discuss a few things with you, Yagari before I go." The Prince said and leaned back in his chair.

Everyone rose and happily left the room. Zero and Kaito lingered in the hallway outside to wait for Yagari. None of them said anything, Zero thought about what had been said during the meeting and Katio probably didn't want to start a conversation, he too was deep in thought. The door opened again, pulling them out from their musings. It was the blond vampire who peeked his head out.

"His Highness wants a word with you." He said.

With equally confused faces, the two apprentices went inside. Yagari sat at the right side of the table giving away nothing. More papers had been put on the table since they had left the room. The Prince looked at Zero who felt warning bells go off.

"I'll be frank with you Kiryuu. Who was it who bit you?" He said with a blank face. Zero was forced to remain as neutral as possible even though he wasn't in the mood to speak about him turning to a vampire. It wasn't one of his most favorite topics.

"The mad princess. Whereabouts unknown but she was as good as dead before biting me, Your Highness." Zero touched his tattoo unconsciously.

"I was reluctant to have a Level D in this group though you proved me wrong during the meeting. In fact, I would want you to have a more responsibility taking role during these missions. Takamiya will of course work beside you."

At first Zero felt offended, then it sunk in what the vampire just had said to him. "That's an honor."

"Can I trust that your current condition as a turned hunter won't take a turn for the worse?"

"You have my word, Your Highness."

"Good. You're dismissed. I will borrow your sensei a little longer. Takuma, please escort these gentlemen outside."

"Kaname-sama." The blond vampire said and bowed deeply.

Zero and Kaito rose from their seats and went outside again to wait for Yagari. It took another hour until the door opened, Yagari walking out first with the prince in tow together with his guards. Their shishou made a sign with his hand meaning that they would follow after him. Zero and Kaito settled in behind the prince's people and realized that their mission to guard the prince started this very minute. It was easy to accommodate to the vampires behind the prince and they concentrated on the surroundings while they walked down the corridors. Many turned their heads, but seeing that Yagari was with them no one did anything to show their obvious displeasure.

Outside, a limousine with the royal flags at the head lights waited for the prince's departure. In front and behind it were two black BMWs with tinted windows. Kain made a quick sweep of the limo reassuring that nothing had been tampered with while they waited in a safe spot inside of the association. Happy with the state of the vehicle, he opened the door and bowed as the prince climbed inside. The two other vampires climbed inside in the BMWs. After closing the door, Kain moved to the driver's seat and started the car to drive it home. Zero, Kaito and Yagari watched as the car drove away and could finally breathe a little easier. It never was fun when the whole association was on edge.

"That went well." Kaito said and sighed.

"Indeed. A few hunters have been cut out from the team but for the better. They would only risk the mission."

"So that's the notes that were made during the meeting." Zero thought out loud.

"Yeah. You where written down too, but for other reasons as you now are aware off. You have a big responsibility; don't fuck it up idiot apprentice."

"Che, always the mood killer ain't you sensei?" Kaito joked.

"I was surprised that he was even thinking to let me be more than just a subordinate when I'm not certified yet."

"The vampire's sees things differently. We need a proof of our authority by gaining certain titles. For them great knowledge and a strong will can be proving enough." Their shishou answered and moved to go inside.

"What's the plan for now?" Zero wondered when they went through the doors.

"I will transfer all this-" Yagari held a bunch of papers in his hand. "and make schedules for everyone with the necessary information. I don't have all the dates in my head but I know that you two will attend the upcoming ball. Blueprints etcetera will be sent to me closer to the mission and we will have a strategic meeting around it. Otherwise it's business as usual for the two of you."

"Lunch and a spar?" Kaito suggested.

"Sounds good. Can't wait to beat your ass to the ground."

"Hey! Yours is on the line just you wait."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"Boys, seriously, stop bickering like grandmas and get going; you're giving me a headache."

In the cafeteria, everyone was buzzing about the royal visit. Zero didn't pay it any attention, since everyone only speculated. The meeting itself was not to be spoken about with those who wasn't involved. He wondered if this was what they were going to be forced to endure every single day until the mission was over. Would be a bitch if that's the case, not that he wouldn't do the same if he had been on their side of the rope. Zero looked at Kaito who had ordered a big meal of fries and a burger. That couldn't be considered good food before a work out. He himself had chosen something light, a bowl of yoghurt with banana slices on top. The actual hunger for food could be taken care of afterwards. Done with refilling with energy or grease in Kaito's case, they headed down to the training grounds. The facilities for workout wasn't as deep down as the shooting range, but on the way down there.

As always, apprentices to Yagari gave them special benefits like lockers in the changing room. Zero put in the code in his and took out his training outfit. A loose pair of his favorite sweatpants and then just a simple white t-shirt that he had a whole pile off since it always managed to get torn one way or another. He caught sight of Kaito's shoulder when he pranced around topless longer than necessary which had a tattoo 'Die vampire, die' it said. It had been a bet, or so he had been told but Zero wasn't so sure when the tattoo was so typical Kaito. That reminded him of something.

"What will your tattoo be when we graduate?" It was custom to get one that signified their time as apprentices or future as fully fledged hunters.

"I'm thinking of a tribal that's easily seen. Like from the hand and traveling upwards. You?"

"Something with a rose, maybe with some tribal's to match the tatt' on my neck." His dad had had a rose and Zero wanted one to honor him. It would be a black one representing the mourning of his family and his own strength for surviving. Where he would put it wasn't something he had decided yet.

Dressed, they headed out to the training equipment to get a decent warm up before sparing. Both chose to run on the treadmill, putting it on a low setting. Zero ran often and thus had a good physical condition and could soon pull up the speed. Consequently Kaito did the same, he couldn't be worse than Zero in anything. He on the other hand ran too fast too soon and started to get breathy despite having almost as good condition as Zero.

"Can't keep up?" Zero baited.

"Hah, hah, of course I can!" Kaito puffed and made the treadmill go faster. Zero responded with going twice that. In the end they ran like maniacs, even Zero felt a stitch in his chest. He knew that Kaito would rather trip and fall on his face than to lose he lowered the speed on his treadmill, trying to wind down. It had been a good warm up but now he was bored and wanted to lift some weights. His companion grinned triumphantly and did the mistake to not take down his pulse step by step and stopped completely. Gasping for breath, sweaty like hell, Kaito downed a bottle of water to clench his thirst. Zero walked on the treadmill now almost finished controlling his beating heart. He stepped down and wiped his face with a towel. Just when he was about to turn around and suggest the weights, Kaito threw up in a bin for used towels.

"Stuffing your face with burgers and fries before training. How smart."

"Fuck you." Kaito growled, dried and rinsed out his mouth spitting out the contents in the bin.

Zero ignored him and moved to lift weights instead. He did his usual routine, knowing that it covered all the muscle groups. It felt good and it was time to beat the crap out of Kaito.

He won of course.

* * *

 **To be continued.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Sorry for late update. Life has gone between me and writing. I try to write when I have the energy.

 **~ Chapter 3 ~**

It had felt good to beat the crap out of Kaito. He complained that he had been nauseous but it was just a poor excuse coming from a hunter to be. Something that hadn't been as great was the graffiti on his locker in the changing room. It was simple, consisting of only one letter: ' **D** '. A clear message and not the first time it happened. Zero took off his t-shirt and wiped the locker door with it. The 'D' got smudged out but was still visible. He glared at the door before throwing away his t-shirt. Kaito chose to not comment since he knew Zero didn't like being doted on.

They had parted ways after that; the day had been long enough. Zero had popped in to his office to see if he had gotten any mail or more paperwork to sign. Shuffling through the stack he had gotten, Zero realized that he couldn't go home just yet. With a sigh he sat down by his desk.

Their report from the previous mission had been sent back with the stamp of approval from the President. Then it was a form for him to sign that he formally accepted the mission for the vampire Prince and the conditions around it. He signed it barely reading it through. He couldn't change anything anyway. There also was a paper to fill in sizes to order new uniforms to the coronation. _Going at it big huh?_ Zero thought. No images of them had been submitted though so they would probably look like the standard hunter formal wear. He begged that they wouldn't be forced to wear gloves and that fancy shit.

Zero could finally head home. It was a fine late afternoon to have a walk on. The weather was sunny and comfortable warm. Despite his delinquent looking style, Zero loved the nature. The sounds, smells - everything. As much as he hated being a vampire, he loved that he could feel all these things more intensely than what a normal human would. It was a perfect way to wind down too. Everything was destroyed by the horn from a hunter truck and the laughs that he picked up from the open window of it. At least they didn't try to run him over, like they attempted to once.

~xxx~

The day had come for the strategic meeting for the ball. It wouldn't suffice to only tail the Prince's vehicle, no, they would need to have a perimeter check and a few close by on the inside. Kuran's own trusted needed to represent the Kuran household and their families which meant that they couldn't solely occupy themselves with guarding. Today was also the first meeting since they had met the Prince.

Yagari had handed out schedules and both Zero and Kaito would be present on everything. Zero could feel the glances his way as a few understood his important role in a few missions, especially when he would be directing orders from Yagari to everyone else in most of them. _Great, more shit coming my way._ Their shishou went through everything and made it clear that an order was an order no matter who it came from. Everyone needed to listen, orders from vampire or hunter it didn't matter. Then they discussed how to best coordinate the convoy and the perimeter check based on maps and info Yagari had gotten beforehand. Then before they could discuss the operation on the inside Yagari decided which poor bastards that were going to be at the actual ball with all the vampires. Zero was one of them of course. Yagari would steer everything from the outside in a van with equipment and maps over the area. Since a few already had been cut out by the Prince from what probably could be considered as the Associations most important mission in history, no one dared to object anything that Yagari said, not straight to his face at least. Everyone would be present at the coronation though. Zero and Kaito were asked to stay behind to have their own master-apprentice meeting.

"Okay, as you two see you are scheduled on everything. This is to not compromise with your hunter training since I will get more busy with this than I originally thought."

"I guess the Press' might throw things our way anyway." Kaito sneered.

"That is a possibility I can't do something about."

"I'm fairly okay with it. We will get more updated with everything happening and it will be easier to plan."

"Since your training is almost over, being involved to a 100 % will be more beneficial than hunting level E's. _But_ fysio and tech training like usual." Yagari brought forward something from his pocket and placed it in front of Zero. "The enforcement of your mark will only be strong for so long. You know what to do."

It was a new box of blood pills. It was true that he had been spared from to take them recently and he hadn't missed it at all. Zero accepted the box and put it away in his own pocket.

"I was thinking that we should go through your spell skill. Since most of the vampire's we will be seeing in the near future are nobles, you can't just shot them down like E's. They need to be judged by trials and all that noble crap they do. This is a good time to repeat them."

"All of them or just the most common ones?"

"Every single one. The test is random."

"I hate spell training." Kaito complained.

"You won't when you can throw them without saying the incantation."

"Always remember that it's always stronger to chant them, stupid apprentice." Yagari corrected.

"Whatever, are we going or not?"

The most positive thing with spell training was that they did it outside in a big stony area where they could go all in without destroying the whole Association. Their shishou pressed a few buttons on a control panel to cast a protective shield over the sky.

"We will go through the spells in themes. Binding, protecting and attacking. Understood?"

"Yes." Zero and Kaito answered in unison.

"Let's start with the binding spells." Yagari decided and lit a cigarette to enjoy while watching his apprentices train.

After going through the three groups both Zero and Kaito could feel the exhaustion in their bodies. It wasn't normal to do as many spells as they had in this short time span. In field it served to compliment their martial arts. They took a break to hydrate and get input from their shishou.

"As far as remembering the spells you got it down. Zero, you have adapted well to not react to the spells yourself though they are a little week still." The first time Zero actually had tried a spell it had backfired and hit his own person. It happened a few times more until he got the hang of it. If he wasn't careful a few could burn his skin when sending them away. "Kaito, you need to chill a bit with being aggressive when using protecting spells. They can break if you're unlucky. Be aggressive but with the right emotion behind it."

"Are we ready or do we need more training?"

"You're ready, if you can correct your weaknesses. I'll sign you up for the examination."

One step closer to actually becoming a hunter and get rid of the 'apprentice' stamp, but most important of all: show everyone that they were _wrong_. Yagari smirked in his own happy way. He was proud even if he didn't voice it.

Yagari had signed them up straight away and due to the death of an apprentice on a training mission, Zero and Kaito got an examination date sooner than expected. It would be in the middle of their mission for the prince though. Yagari also got information from the President that if Kuran was happy with their services and that the hunters got a better relation with the vampires, this mission would end their apprentice days. Things suddenly got more serious, they really needed to shine. The prince had given Zero a golden ticket with giving him more responsibilities from the start.

~xxx~

The ball weren't in the Prince's own residence even if it was an event to give an open invitation for important nobles to attend his coronation. It was a good friend that had taken it on his shoulders to arrange it. Isaya Shoto, a pureblood. Since Zero was going to be inside he had been reading intel about everyone attending the ball, well what the hunters had managed to collect up to date. The purebloods or vampires in general for that matter didn't reveal their secrets to anyone that easily. The intel was mostly pictures or drawings with some basic facts to recognize the vampires. He put away the folder as they were nearing their destination. Zero sat in the follow-car behind the royal limousine. The Prince's own people sat in the car with him this time. When looking outside the window Zero saw a huge mansion coming into view. He knew by the blueprints over the area that the building was large but it always baffled him when he saw the real deal.

The taillights flared red, indicating that the limo was breaking and the convoy came to a stop. Zero opened the door and stepped outside to stand by the vehicle he had arrived in. Now he waited for the Prince to get out from the limo so he could follow them inside. A few other hunters that were going to be inside came to rest behind him waiting for further instructions.

A servant from the Isaya household opened the limousine door with a bow and Kuran got out from it. He didn't bother to look back as he started to climb the few steps leading to the big oak door.

"Team 1 goes inside." Zero spoke into the small communicating device on his collar and got a confirmation from his shishou in his ear piece. He and his group tailed the Prince inside, but was only permitted entrance after they had been ID'ed and checked by the guest list. Everything went smoothly and once the Prince had disappeared in the crowd Team 1 made themselves invisible with visual of the noble with a hunter in every corner of the big ball room. Yagari confirmed the new status Zero reported and ordered the teams to be on standby.

Then the boring wait begun. Sure, he was warm and could enjoy some music on the job, but staring at nobles for a whole night wasn't as fun as one could think. They weren't allowed to drink or eat anything, only to stand and not drag to much attention. Spoke when spoken to and all that. The crowd moved around in the room, conversing, drinking, laughing and making sure to greet acquaintances. Zero spotted Isaya after a while - the pureblood dressed in a crisp suit hugging his body in the right way, obviously tailored to perfection. Isaya brushed his shoulder length hair away from his face as he winked to a woman he was talking to and then laughed when she blushed a deep red. Zero tried to not roll his eyes.

He moved his attention towards the ends of the room, where it would be easy for someone suspicious to be lurking around unnoticed. Everything looked good so far, everyone in the room was still greeting familiar faces making the crowd move around. Then someone stopped straight in front of him and Zero snapped his head towards the person or rather, the vampire.

It was a small girl staring at him with big eyes. "Oniisan, I don't understand…why are a vampire like you dressed like a hunter?"

Zero continued to look at the girl lost for words. She waited for an answer and didn't seem to budge until she got one. They weren't even supposed to talk to anyone in the room. He ignored her and looked forward instead, feeling offended by her question. _Hunter_ , he was a hunter and nothing else. His attentive gaze quickly turned into a hateful glare.

"Oniisan?" The girl tugged on his jacket to get his attention. Fed up with the situation, he looked down on her, still glaring daggers. Just as he was about to say something awful a stronger presence made itself known. It was Kuran who had sneaked up on them and due to the girl Zero had lost his focus entirely.

"It's not good to bother the security little Miss. They have an important job and shouldn't be disturbed." The Prince said and ushered the girl away.

"Your Highness." Zero said and bowed his head a little.

"I'd never guess that someone of your caliber would be distracted by a mere child. Don't let it happen again." Kuran said seriously and walked away. Zero gritted his teeth in annoyance and stared at the retreating prince's back.

The whole scenario was a thorn in Zero's side the entire evening. Why should he make sure that someone stayed out of harm's way when it wasn't appreciated? Because it was the professional thing to do, had it been Kaito, he'd dump his ass straight away. The evening had consisted of the same boring, false chit chat between the nobles present. Zero looked at his watch discreetly and noted that he had been standing in the same spot for a little over four hours. It was almost two at night and he knew that this could continue to the sunrise if he was unlucky. He felt stiff everywhere to boot and shifted a little to ease the pressure on his joints.

"Team 1, movement in the west wing of the perimeter." Yagari's voice calmly transponded through the ear piece. "Stand by and await new info."

"Affirmative." Zero responded while searching for eye contact with the other members of his team. They understood and their guarding was tightened up. It could just have been an animal for all they knew. The tiniest movement had to be treated as a high risk until the opposite could be proved. _Finally_ something was happening and it all made Zero more awake than before. It was good for the mission if things stayed calm, but some excitement could perk things up a notch.

"We have one in custody. Not calculated to be a threat."

And there all the fun distraction ended in the blink of an eye. Sometimes he wished that their hunting abilities weren't as good. He fell back into the boring staring. Right now all he wanted was to go home and sleep. The music got quiet and all the guests turned to the front of the room where Isaya stood, waiting for everyone's attention. He then held out his arm and Kuran took his place.

"The time has come for me to step up, to give you a strong but fair hand that steers the vampire community in the right direction. Important times are ahead of us and new alliances are going to be made. I sincerely hope that I will have you with me on this journey. You are all welcome to attend my coronation and the festivities around it."

Zero watched how Isaya raised his glass and declared a toast for the royal. Everyone followed and in unison said: "For the future king." He was ready to expel his stomach in the nearest plant. It all was fake pretense in his eyes, they had no choice than to make sure that Kuran knew that they supported him even if they deep inside rather did the opposite. He was one of the most powerful and one was a fool to not realize that. The hunter's was forced to follow the higher ups in the same way but that didn't mean that they couldn't stand up for themselves and make decisions based on own thinking. The minions in the vampire world were slaves, scared to act by themselves. That was one of the things Zero hated with vampires.

The crowd dispersed and the festivities continued like before. Instead of the greetings, Kuran had to deal with personal luck wishes from many in the room. The news wasn't unexpected to anyone everything was _once again_ back to formalities. The night felt like a broken record and people who honestly were jealous about these royal gatherings should reconsider.

It wasn't until a few hours later, that Kuran decided to leave. The sun was about to rise and Zero had been forced to watch nobles dance the last two. Kuran had disappeared at one point, making everyone looking out for him confused. Zero refused to use the word 'worried'. The King's right hands hadn't reacted and Zero judged that it was green from their response. Yagari had been uncertain at first but considering that the night had been calm he trusted his apprentice's decision. When Zero once again had visual of the royal, he actually felt relieved that he had been correct. If he had his guesses right, Kuran and Isaya had been conversing in private.

His highness moved away from the crowd and Zero signed to the hunters inside to follow. They did so discreetly with a distance since the royal's own men had walked out with him. Isaya had made sure that the limo was waiting for them outside and Yagari had mobilized their own vehicles like they were when they first drove there. Kuran bid farewell to Isaya and climbed inside the limo which drove away immediately.

Zero let out a quiet sigh, they couldn't relax just yet but the worst part of the whole charade was over and everything had gone smoothly. He shifted a little in his seat, standing up not able to move around at all had made him stiff. The convoy followed the limousine all the way to the castle and instead of following it through the gates the hunters continued to drive forward. They would evaluate everything and make corrections based on that to plan the coronation surveillance to a T.

A small ace in his sternum, followed by a cough made Zero aware of how exhausted he was. On reflex he took out a blood pill and crushed it between his teeth.

"What?" He said displeased when the hunter in front of him stared warily at him. Zero knew exactly what the deal was about and wasn't about to pretend he hadn't noticed.

" _Che_." Was all he got as an answer. Coward. Though Zero knew better than to start a fight and let it pass. He could feel how Kaito started at him and he chose to look out through the window. To always be under someone's critical eye was tiring, one could think that he was used to it by now.

When Zero finally got home, he fell on his bed fully clothed. He couldn't move a finger and wished that they could get some rest after all of this. With his luck he could forget about it right now. He wondered what position he would get after he graduated. Beeing an apprentice under his shishou have probably saved him from a lot of trouble and to stick with him would probably be the best thing. Zero didn't think that he would gain the same authority as Kaito or anyone else that passed the training. It didn't hurt, but he felt frustrated. He was good at what he was doing and everyone knew it. He groaned into his pillow and tried to get some rest, while he could.

 **To be continued.**


	4. Chapter 4

**~ Chapter 4 ~**

Zero glared at the pile of clothing that everyone had received. It was as bad as he had imagined. These clothes were fancy and nothing like the hunters brash and hard exterior. The black pants were pressed to perfection and the white shirt was a crisp white. A black suit jacket finished it all together with a pair of white gloves. His major concern was whether they would be able to move in these clothes or not. Yagari seemed to notice everyone's displeasure and began to explain how the big day was going to turn out.

"First the Prince will be coronated indoors, witnessed by a selected few. TV crews are going to broadcast it in real time as this is something that concerns the whole nation. Kuran will have his speech to the people afterwards and this will take place on a small platform. We will have people on the inside during the coronation and of course during the speech where the Prince is the most vulnerable."

Yagari took a breathing pause and motioned for everyone to look at their clothes.

"You all have different clothing depending on position. Those behind the view of the camera have been given a finer battle wear while those of you that are close to public and might be shown on TV has an official suit-like clothing."

Zero connected the dots quickly and understood that he had drawn the lucky card once more. He frowned and shifted a little in his seat.

"The distribution has been decided by the Prince based on our first mission. Most of you have the same positions." Yagari continued to inform the group. "We will have extra fysiotraining the coming days before the coronation to ensure that everyone is fit for fight. Any sicknesses are needed to be reported to me. We can't have anyone half decent out on the field; also respect each other during training to minimize any unnecessary injuries."

The meeting ended and everyone split up to focus on the coronation. In Zero's and Kaito's case, they would have their examination today and now when the hours where closing in, Zero felt a little bit nervous. You only got one chance to pass and if you were to fail, desk and boring paperwork would be what you would be doing for the rest of your life. Zero had trained and bled enough on countless missions to even come to this day. He would pass and show them.

His shishou ruffled his hair and consequently destroyed his hairstyle as he passed him. "Don't be nervous stupid apprentice."

"Tch, I'm not!" Zero ground out while fixing his hair.

"Yes you _are_." Kaito teased.

"I could at least eat my breakfast this morning and not just stare at it."

"Okay, both of you girls are nervous. As you should be, fail and I'll kick your behinds to the next year." Their shishou half joked. Both Kaito and Zero knew that they would get in deep trouble if they didn't pass.

A few hours later, they stood behind the legendary oak doors where many famous hunters had gone through to get their proof of knowledge. Zero thought that he was nervous before, that had been a joke compared to this, hell his knees almost trembled. Kaito wasn't faring better; Zero could smell his nervous breath clearly. Yagari was already on the other side, probably sitting in the observing area. As one of the top hunters he usually took part of the examination himself but this time he had to stand aside. The doors opened and they stepped inside.

The lighting was bright, almost enough to make Zero want to shield his eyes and many hunters had come to watch them. The president sat in a throne looking chair to which they went down on a knee in front to bow and show their respect.

"I wish you good luck on your examinations; you have my approval to begin." The president said and Zero could almost hear the smugness in his voice.

They would be evaluated one by one and how they could work together. Many missions the hunters had were in group and it was just as important as working alone. A hunter, about Touga's age stepped out in view. **Dee** was as an elite hunter too but Zero had never interacted with the man before, only seen him on distance at the Association. Rumors said that he was ruthless on missions.

"Apprentices, you may stand." Dee spoke out in the thick silence. He looked at them with hard eyes, all serious business. "We will start with the individual tests first. Takamiya you will take the lead."

"Yes, Sir."

They broke out in a one on one fight where Dee attacked Kaito in any possible way. Zero could quickly see that their examiner varied his attacks to force Kaito to use different spells, both to attack and to protect himself. The idea was to make as many points as possible by using different spells and techniques during a set time. The faux fight continued a while longer before it was blown off. Zero was up next.

Zero breathed out slowly as he watched how Dee shifted around where he stood. The man's body language was hard to read and he barely moved his lips when saying the incarnations. The first where thrown at him, and he paired with a protecting spell, only to quickly throw one back at Dee to show that he wasn't afraid of the man. Kaito had been more on the careful side at the beginning where he only had protected himself, though it can be a good path to see what you opponent was like. Zero on the other hand had a lot to prove and wasn't afraid to show it. His opponent saw this and didn't hold back. Attack after attack was thrown and Zero met them expertly. Before he even saw it, the fight was over.

He tried to catch his breath, the spar had been intense and he could feel a small burn from a spell on his cheek. Both had completed the first part of the examination and Dee motioned for them to follow. The second part was always different since it was a way to test their abilities to adapt as well as working together. To pass the spell fight was a given, to pass the final test was the real deal to find out if you got what it take.

Zero and Kaito looked at each other, they knew instantly that this was going to be difficult. It looked to be some kind of wide area with a lot of dark corners to hide in. Zero's vampire senses kicked it instantly and he could already feel presence of at least four vampires in there. _What the fuck._ Had the Association really gone so far to capture Level E's to the tests? It wouldn't surprise him but it still did. He had always believed that it would be other hunters to test them in the group challenge. How wrong he had been. Kaito looked at him with skeptical eyes to which Zero confirmed with a short nod. Then they went inside.

It was quiet, almost too quiet. Both walked with drawn weapons after Zero had informed Kaito of the number of vampires. They walked around carefully to try to get a perspective of the area. It was as big as expected and it seemed to have built in rooms. The set was supposed to look like a floor in a house or a story building Zero realized. He crinkled his nose, the smell from the creatures was strong and that could only mean one thing, that they were close.

"Kaito, one at ten o'clock." Zero spoke low. Their focus went to the vampire in hiding. Zero's hearing picked up shifting of feet and he aimed his gun towards the noise. Kaito had noticed something too and fired his gun when he detected movement. The vampire hissed and fled to their disappointment. After being certain that the vampire had fled, Kaito walked closer to the area while Zero watched his back. He found splattered blood as a sign that his bullet had hit its mark. That was good, blood they could always trace and easily judge how old it was and how fast the E was running judged by the spreading of it.

Slowly they followed the trace of blood on the floor. It went inside a room and they took cover against the wall beside the door post. "What would you guess?" Kaito whispered. "6-8 of them?" Zero nodded. They did a hand sign to go inside, Zero went first and immediately a E came into view which he quickly shot down. Kaito had his back and took one to the left. They got a moment to breathe and take in the huge room that had more hiding space for the E´s than themselves. Zero could guess a good reason why, usually the level E had the upper hand when it came to be able to hide and not to have it in the examination would be strange.

The rustle of something further back drew their attention. They still had more than the half of the vampires left and they still didn't know if the E´s worked in a group or single handedly. Since the two had come for them almost immediately chances were that they moved in groups. Both Zero and Kaito moved together, scanning every possible surface as they went. Out of nowhere one vampire jumped down on Zero before he had the chance to sense it properly. It grasped at his shoulders to get him to loose his footing but Kaito was quick on his feet and pulled the E down on the ground to let Zero shot it point blank. Zero was a little surprised that he had been jumped on that easily, luckily enough the E hadn't done any damage more than startle him. He was more concerned over the vampire he had shot at before, it was nowhere to be seen. A wounded E was a hungry one.

Zero sensed something in the back of his mind. It was like a little itch. He looked around to see if he could see what he was sensing. Kaito poked his shoulder and pointed at the floor a little further away. There was blood on the floor. A good sign that they hadn't lost track of the wounded E. Zero took the lead hunched down to hide as much as possible. The blood was heavier and fresher the further they went. Then suddenly the blood splatter thinned out and it probably meant that the E had jumped up on something. Zero looked up and motioned to Kaito to do the same. He lit up the area with his flashlight and couldn't believe his eyes.

Five set of red eyes stared down at them.

Out of instinct both separated in different directions. Zero peeked out from behind a big box and noticed that Kaito was in the same position. The E´s hade moved, of course, and Zero could only see one way that they had fled. Quietly, he crawled around hunched down to not be noticed. He had managed to move around them and had a perfect visual of the back of a head. Zero aimed and shot, fully aware that it would reveal his position. The bullet hit, and the E turned to dust. Another one did the same thanks to Kaito. Everything turned to chaos when the remaining three realized that the hunters had them covered. Zero took his chance with the feeling that it was now or never. He rushed forward to attack the rest of the E´s but as soon as he stood in front of his hiding place he couldn't move.

At first, he got panicked. Why couldn't he move? The E´s looked at him with predatory gazes and smiled widely when he couldn't go further. Zero noticed then that they stood a bit further away compared to the two they just shot down. It had been a trap.

Zero looked down on his feet, nothing special could be seen on the floor. It made him even more confused as he wasn't trapped physically. An idea popped up in his head. It was a long shot, but he had a suspicion of what it could be. He said the incarnation quietly and the floor lit up in a faint blue. A hunter spell had been put on this spot and the E´s had known about it. Naturally, Zero tried to unlock it with a charm but the blue light turned red and sent a shot of electricity in his body. He grit his teeth against the pain. Kaito noticed his position and tried to do the same sending another electric shock in his body.

"What the fuck." He hissed when the worst was over.

"Sorry!" Kaito said and looked worriedly on the three E´s that still was very much alive.

"You will need to cover me while I try to get out of this." Zero said obviously.

Kaito nodded and Zero got to business. The one that had cast the incarnation on the floor was probably the only one to be able to undo it. It was a little difficult when it was none of their team. The E´s attacked and Kaito shot at them but missed one. Zero found himself quickly trapped behind the E´s arm. He struggled to get away from the horrid stench. It made the E not that pleased and it delivered a blow to his chest with razor sharp talons. Zero´s blood dripped down his front and he could feel the hated blood lust creeping in a little. He breathed hard and the grip around his weapon shook. He was in a little pinch and he had no idea how he could get out of it. Even if Kaito managed to shoot the vampire holding him he would either get attacked by the others that still was alive despite their injuries or the E holding Zero would kill him before the bullet hit.

…Kill? Zero thought. He remembered something vaguely form his books.

"Kaito shot me!" He shouted.

The other apprentice looked at him like he was kidding. "Do it, we don´t have time!"

"I can´t fucking shot you with a antivampire weapon, it will kill you!" He argued.

"The fuck do as I say or else we both get our asses killed!" Zero shouted back. Of all times Kaito decided that it was good opportunity to think and use his brain was now.

Kaito aimed his weapon at him, it was shaking a little. "I hope you´re right Zero." He muttered before shooting him in the side.

When the bullet hit, Zero couldn´t breathe. A fire spread in his veins and it was unlike anything he had felt before. He was used to a little hunter poison, but not like this and not directly into his blood stream. The E holding him had moved away and was hit by the bullet as it had thankfully exited his body. The spell weakened a little and Zero could grasp his side to try and stop the blood flow. Kaito sent another shot and killed the E that had been holding Zero. The dust covered him, and he coughed a little. He aimed his bloody rose at the vampires still standing and efficiently sending a shot at each and everyone of them. All the E´s where finally gone. Both Zero and Kaito could breathe out.

The hunter spell disappeared and Zero fell to the ground exhausted. The lights were turned on and Dee stepped out looking all serious. That they survived the second part of the examination didn't mean that they had aced the tests. Despite the weariness in his body, Zero stood up and followed Kaito and Dee to the observation area where the first part had taken place. His side stung and the hunger clawed at him a little in the back of his mind. He probably looked as terrible as he felt.

Touga had a smug look on his face, their master was at least happy with their accomplishment. Zero looked up at the president and as Dee, he was stone faced.

"We will discuss this examination and notify you." The president said.

 _What?_ Weren't they supposed to get the results now? Zero looked at Kaito who was as surprised as he was.

They gathered outside and Yagari motioned them to follow him. Zero tired to keep up and looked down as much as possible if his eyes would show any redness. It wasn't until the door in his office closed that they could finally relax and Zero could finally show a little bit of weakness.

"Idiot apprentice, was it necessary to make Kaito shoot you? Do you realize how bad it could had turned?!"

Zero sighed. "Yes and yes. But it was the only way to do it, they had me trapped in a hunter spell. Fucking cheap."

"Yeah, I know." Touga said low and held out a case of blood pills.

Zero took it with shaky hands and chewed a few to still the hunger. Everything would have been great if it wasn't that they came straight up again. He coughed a little and blood trickled down his chin. His body was done with the day, that was sure. He took a seat on a chair nearby as the pain was to much for him right now. His body was trying to keep up with the poison and the wound. A few breaths were taken to ease the pain but to much avail.

Touga lifted his jacket a little and inspected the wound. His brow lifted when he realized that the shot Zero had taken was more fatal than he first had thought. They hadn't had the time to dress it either and the blood had been flowing freely the entire time.

"You are going to the med ward."

"No, I'm not." Zero wheezed.

"Yes, you are."

"It will heal."

"And the poison…?"

"Do you really think that they would help _me_ with drawing out hunter made poison? It goes a little against their culture. It's still no. Help me home at least after I dress this properly."

Touga sighed and Kaito rubbed his temples. "I need rest, that's all. Don't worry."

"I don't worry." Touga answered in an uncharismatic manner.

Kaito who had been quiet the entire time had gone to get gauze and antiseptic wipes. Zero took them with gratefulness and began to dress the shot wound. Kaito stared at it and couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Zero coughed a little as he tied the gauze hard around his torso. It hurt like a bitch.

"Let's get you home before you fall asleep in my office."

"Yeah, it would be difficult to bring any ladies here if he did." Kaito joked.

"Like I would care about that." Touga responded with no care.

"Master, _euw_."


End file.
